News and Events >TTO Reception: Open Source, Open Standards, and the Future of the Internet

TTO Reception: Open Source, Open Standards, and the Future of the Internet

March 3, 2005

Boulder, CO - In conjunction with the March 3rd Silicon Flatirons Telecommunications Program event, "Open Source, Open Standards, and the Future of the Internet, The CU Technology Transfer Office will be holding a special reception for CU faculty, staff and students who develop software. The TTO is supportive of using open source licenses to release software. Representatives will be available to discuss the TTO's philosophy on open source software distribution. -more-

Please attend if you would like to discuss how research, academic dissemination, intellectual property rights, and legal issues all come together in the decision to make software available through open source. Topics could include:

. the role of university developers in the open source software community

. including third party code in an open source release

. the differences in various open source and free software licenses

. combined open source and commercial distribution (dual-licensing)

The event stars at 3:45pm, and the TTO reception will be held following the event, at 7pm. The event and reception will be held at the University of Colorado School of Law. Details and registration for "Open Source, Open Standards, and the Future of the Internet" can be found at:

http://www.silicon-flatirons.org/conferences/Open_spring_2005.html

The Internet's evolution from an academic curiosity to a transformative force of economic and social change continues to baffle observers and challenge policymakers. In the early 1990s, the government made its initial steps to embrace private enterprise in the Internet world and to encourage the development of proprietary technologies, allowing, for example, software patents and encouraging international compliance with stronger intellectual property rights. At the same time, leading standard setting bodies, such as the World Wide Web Consortium, have championed the role of open standards and open source technologies to preserve the Internet's traditional commitment to openness and the end-to-end principle that facilitates innovation and entry at the edges of the network. As the Internet evolves, and new proprietary applications continue to take hold, companies, lawyers, and policymakers must make sense of a complex set of developments.

In this conference, we will discuss the sustainability and legal status of open source licensing as a regime for facilitating the Internet's commitment to openness while inviting commercial development. Similarly, we will explore whether and how open standards can thrive in an environment where firms are often relying on intellectual property protection and business strategies that encourage proprietary development. To put these questions in perspective, we will hear from Michael Gallagher, the President's top information policy advisor, as well as an array of business, legal, and policy professionals.